Anime Vice News

Is Anime Really Going To Die?!?! - - THE VICE PIT

Is the business changing... for the worse? Tom and Sam take a cold, sober look at how anime has evolved in America - - looking back and then forward to the future in search of answers. Also, do you remember Suncoast Music and Movies? Wow, 25 bucks for a VHS, huh?

Tom, you start this video off with a cold, murderous, stare of death into the camera.

I think Swaggity's take is a bit over the top. Anime convention is at record highs and is increasing every year. There's more fans than ever. People may not be watching as much of it on TV as they used to, but that's because back in the day you didn't have stuff like Hulu/Netflix/Crunchyroll pumping out anime on demand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now you do.

There is no way we are getting that car!!! Anime is going to be around for a loooong time. Sure now there's a lot of US properties to choose from, but because of the internet we have more access to anime than before.

Whenever someone says "this thing was so much better this many years ago" nine times out of ten it's almost purely nostalgia. Anime is more accessible now than it's ever been, anyone who thinks it's "dying" is crazy.

I do remember when people were sending out fan-dub/sub VHS tapes, when if you wanted to watch something and not break the bank, you'd attend a convention or join a regional club. When I was in college, the library in Pasadena would rent out rooms to clubs so fans could gather to watch shows, raw and in English. About 5% of what was broadcast in Japan ever made it back to the states, so there were lots of show we'd never heard of until years later. These days everything comes into our homes streaming in HD and subbed with good translations. Who in their right mind would want to go back to the way anime was in the late 80's-early 90's?

The way we get anime is better than ever, but the industry is evolving to deal with the new technology. That's true of any business. Things will change, that's certain, but I'm sure the hobby will still be around and there will be people like me tuning into our favorite shows. I expect in a decade we'll be watching a reboot of Dragonball, an homage to the magical girl craze, and new episodes of One Piece.

It kinda hard to say how the anime industry is really doing when looking at it from the amount of streamed anime we're getting and the new forms of preserving mangas. I say it is slightly going up since stream ads are helping run revenue to both anime studios and licensing studios.

Here this, I been buying more anime related products now than I was a few years ago.

I am loving where the industry is now. The bad thing is there is so much coming out that is available for me to watch and read that I can't keep up anymore. But that's my fault because I watch like half of the new series and keep finding more manga of interest.

Whenever someone says "this thing was so much better this many years ago" nine times out of ten it's almost purely nostalgia. Anime is more accessible now than it's ever been, anyone who thinks it's "dying" is crazy.

@sotyfan16: Unfortunately I need to make that engine last as looooooong as I can :) At least until I get that money the nice man from Nigeria promised me in that email

@Daniel_Newton: Thanks for the shirt love... I hope my sartorial choice impress, like that time I wore the same hat twice for filming and didn't notice until I was editing for two separate weeks. That was great.

@DocHaus: Yeah! Again, for me, it all comes down to perspective... the old maxim "another man's trash is another man's treasure" comes to mind. What is the harbinger of the end of anime could also be someone's favorite series. Taste is subjective, but if there's enough passionate opinion it can keep the industry alive. What kills a medium is apathy, and hopefully the passion I see from fans continues.

Also, legally buying the content helps, which reminds me of a what a future episode is going to be about...

Also, legally buying the content helps, which reminds me of a what a future episode is going to be about...

I buy all of my anime legally. I just don't first watch them legally. I think the streaming options of Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, YouTube, and The Anime Network are great especially for professional subbing and hi-res picture. However, I've never felt the need to pay for any of the services just so I can get more content (or at least not have to wait a week after episodes air or until I can watch more than just the first episode as a free sample) and no longer have to endure far too many (and long) commercials that I care nothing about. That's where I turn to fansubs. I know plenty of sites and I was using them before any of the legal streaming options caught on and improved to have more content.

So, in the end the companies are getting my money, just not at the very beginning. Plus, why pay for something if at least some of the content you aren't even going to like?

@sotyfan16: I can see the argument of "try before you buy" for sure in a lot of cases.

I think the attraction to "buying in" for premium streaming services is pretty cool, I don't do it personally yet, but I think as they get more savvy about what the audience wants perhaps they could bring over people from the fansubbing community to support them.

This is kinda similar to how Valve has hired fans that made levels with their in-game engines, sort of a "Fan turns Pro" scenario. "Hey, you know what the audience likes in fansubbing? Work for me, how can I reach them?"

I also don't like some of the pricing. Can I afford it? Yes. But also, I'm still on shows from 2011 so paying to see new series does me no good. Plus, many shows I watch don't get licensed right away or even at all.

But that's just me and most fans don't watch as many series as I do (I watch as many as reviewers who make a living doing so). I also agree that subbers are talented and many times they will give truer translations along with notes that explain different references. However, most will not work with companies because the outcry on mistakes does not impact the businesses enough to make a change.

Dig Deeper into Soul Eater

A group of students at the Weapon Meister school called the DWM. They train along with their human-weapons to make them strong enough to be used by Shinigami-sama himself.